The world no.2 won the opener in Monte Carlo against Gilles Simon recovering from a desperate situation when the Frenchman was serving for the match in the decider when he was 5-4 up. Eventually, Serb found the solution to win the match 6-3 3-6 7-5.

It was a difficult match. DJOKOVIC

In the post-match in interview, Nole commented

"It was a very difficult match, with many changes of momentum. It was very tiring for me, the first clay of the season. But this is the start of the Roland Garros build-up."